County Wicklow & Dublin

Today we took a lovely trip through County Wicklow. Our first site excursion was the 7^th century monastic settlement of Glendalough, where we explored the ruins and Viking Tower there. Much of what we learned about today was related to the Early Irish Church.

Wicklow

Christianity reached Ireland sometime in the fourth century. In the fifth century, Pope Celestine appointed Bishop Palladium to the Irish Christians. The early church in Ireland was episcopal (governed by bishops), but by the late sixth century monastic settlements began to dominate the Irish Church. In time, monasteries and other church settlements became important centers of population, wealth, and activity.

We then visited another old monastic site in Wicklow, the “Priest’s House,” a miniature 12^th century building which was perhaps an oratory or shrine. The building displayed a unique alcove with a Romanesque arch. We then took a long walk around the outdoors site through the woods near the Wicklow Mountains.

Woods in Wicklow

We had a brief lunch then headed into a Celtic cross exhibit, where we studied the unique formations and symbolisms of the replicas of real crosses from all over Ireland. Then we headed into a museum on the founding of the Republic of Ireland and also got to view the monument ,which had inscribed in it the Republic’s Declaration of Independence.

Lastly, we toured the Writer’s Museum and got to learn about all of the famous writers of Ireland. I think my favorite Irish writer has to be Jonathan Swift, because he is so brilliantly portrays the politics of Britain and Ireland in metaphors and a clever use of language. Claire, Ashley, and I went out to dinner at the Hard Rock Café in Dublin, which was nice because it reminded us of home.